At CMCA, we have two ways of sparking change. The first way is through our direct interventions, which include our programmes for school students, college students, and rural libraries. Our second way is policy advocacy to change the way Citizenship and Life Skills education is imparted in India.
Using the results of our pioneering research study on youth attitudes, the Yuva Nagarik Meter, and our learning from the programmes we deliver, including the quality assurance process followed with them, we advocate for policy change in education to state and national governments. Our initiatives seek to improve civics education in India by proposing reforms and recommendations that will instill the values of democratic citizenship in the young.
The Yuva Nagarik Meter (YNM) is CMCA’s pioneering national benchmark study to establish a baseline of Democratic Citizenship values and attitudes amongst the urban Indian youth. Establishing the baseline is important because when we understand the current state of youth attitudes towards democratic citizenship, it gives us a starting point. Once we have this starting point, we are then able to design our programmes and efforts to engender Active Citizenship amongst the youth. Only when we have clear data on the current state of affairs can we start engaging with governments, educational institutions, and other bodies in the area of education to improve the way our society imparts Citizenship and Life Skills Education to young people.
Dialogues was a sequel to Yuva Nagarik Meter (YNM), CMCA’s first-of-its-kind study on attitudes and values towards Democratic Citizenship among youth in urban India. The initiative Dialogues sought to engage with educators, academia, government agencies, and civil society and deliberate on various aspects of civic education practices in India and propose recommendations for reforms. We have held two successful editions of Dialogues, one each in Bengaluru and Mumbai.
CMCA, in collaboration with the Centre for Corporate Governance and Citizenship at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, and Education World, conducted Dialogues, a national participatory workshop towards policy reforms in education for democratic citizenship.
The workshop held on the 7th of October, 2015 at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, saw over 100 participants from various parts of the country. The workshop was designed as a participatory process aimed at generating policy recommendations. Dialogues explored how Education for Democracy (variously called Civics, Political Science, Democratic Politics, Constitution Course, etc.) which is currently being offered in schools and colleges has the potential to be an even more empowering and democratic learning process for young people in India.
Heads of institutions, principals, teachers, students, government officials, civil society organizations, and individuals came together at Dialogues to deliberate on specific themes. Some recommendations were made to governments, boards of education, and institutions to instil values of democratic citizenship in our young. The programme was further enriched by these prominent speakers:
Dialogues: Transforming Citizenship in India held on 25 May 2015 at Sophia College for Women, Mumbai, was organized by CMCA in partnership with Public Concern for Governance Trust (PCGT).
This landmark event brought together educators, academia, government agencies, and civil society groups who deliberated on the various aspects of civic education practices in Maharashtra’s schools and proposed recommendations for reforms such as:
Mr. Nand Kumar, I.A.S., Principal Secretary – Education and Sports, Government of Maharashtra, who chaired the plenary as a guest of honour, conveyed his appreciation to the organisers for taking up this vital topic. He said that the government is open to suggestions, and suggested that the recommendations from the workshop should be submitted to the consultative processes in place. Mr. Julio F Ribeiro, Chairman and Founding Trustee of PCGT, was also present at the event.
Huge resources are required to carry out research, create new training resources, and work with governments and boards of education to bring about change. This work will transform the way Civics is taught in India and thus empower young people to become Active Citizens.
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